“That They May Know the Judgments of God”

Brant Gardner

After citing such major sections of Isaiah, Nephi now turns to his purpose in recording that material. As has been noted, Nephi's style, echoed by Jacob, is to let the base text stand intact, and then use that text as foundation to build his own ideas.

It is precisely in this context that Nephi introduces his extrapolation on the Isaiah foundation. Nephi indicates that he want to show "all those that shall receive hereafter these things which I write, that they may know the judgments of God, that they come upon all nations, according to the word which he hath spoken." The purpose of Nephi's scriptural discourse will therefore be two things, a discourse to future generations from a prophet charged with preparing for them, and a justification of the words of the prophets, and thereby a firm foundation for his own prophetic statements.

Multidimensional Commentary on the Book of Mormon

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